Khalil al-Hayya gave his first speech as the new head of Hamas on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. The speech was broadcast on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV. Standing at a lectern with the flags of Palestine and Hamas behind him, al-Hayya listed six goals for the group under his leadership. His top priority: a full stop to Israeli military action in Gaza Al Jazeera Middle East Monitor.

Hamas is a Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip and is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and other countries. It also functions as a political movement with a leadership structure. Two days before the speech, on Monday, July 20, Hamas's internal decision-making body — called the General Shura Council — chose al-Hayya as the group's overall leader. He won a final vote against Khaled Meshaal, who led Hamas's political wing from 1996 to 2017 and has stayed influential in the group's leadership outside of Gaza. The position had been empty since Yahya Sinwar, the previous leader, was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in 2024. After Sinwar's death, Hamas was run by a five-member council, which included al-Hayya Al Jazeera.

The leadership change carries personal weight, too. Al-Hayya's son, Azzam al-Hayya, died on May 7, 2026, from injuries he suffered in an Israeli attack the night before. That was about two months before his father took the top job Reuters.

In the speech, al-Hayya repeated Hamas's goal of creating a Palestinian state that includes Gaza, the West Bank (which is occupied by Israel), and East Jerusalem as its capital. This goal was written into Hamas's 2017 policy document. He promised that Hamas would work to ease suffering in Gaza, prevent any attempt to force Palestinians from their land, and speed up rebuilding. He also thanked countries that are trying to end the war Al Jazeera.

Al-Hayya also spoke directly to Palestinians living in Jerusalem and the West Bank, calling Jerusalem the "compass and heart of our struggle." This was notable because it framed Hamas's goals as covering all Palestinian territories, not just Gaza Al Jazeera.

The broader context here is one of rebuilding after a long gap in leadership. Sinwar was not only Hamas's political chief but also the planner of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. The five-member council that ran things after his death was seen as a temporary fix, made necessary because Israel had been targeting Hamas's senior leaders one by one. The decision to go back to a single leader, and the contest between al-Hayya and Meshaal, suggest an internal debate about direction. Al-Hayya is based in Gaza with close ties to both the military and political sides of Hamas. Meshaal has operated from outside Gaza for years. The result points toward keeping the same Gaza-based leadership style that Sinwar represented.

The six goals al-Hayya presented also work as a message to the outside world. By organizing his speech around concrete actions — ending the offensive, easing suffering, rebuilding, resisting displacement, the Jerusalem question, and the broader Palestinian national project — he is presenting Hamas as a governing and nationalist movement, not just a military group. This matches the approach in Hamas's 2017 policy document, which tried to separate the group's political goals from its armed activities.

How much al-Hayya can actually do about these goals is limited by what is happening on the ground. Hamas's military strength has been weakened by nearly two years of Israeli attacks. Its ability to govern in Gaza is in ruins. Any rebuilding will depend on what Israel, Egypt, and international donors allow. His thanks to countries trying to end the war suggests an openness to outside help, but the speech included no specific peace proposals or ceasefire terms.

For countries and mediators in the region, al-Hayya's rise gives them a clear person to deal with. The vote result shows that Hamas's leadership chose to continue the political approach from Sinwar's time rather than shift course under Meshaal. Whether that leads to progress on hostage negotiations, ceasefire agreements, or plans for governing Gaza after the war will depend on many factors beyond this first speech.